South Africa 2006

I've broken this post into 10 Posts to accomodate all of the pictures. Enjoy!

Start of Safari

The trip began on September 7, 2006. I booked with Stormberg Elangeni Safaris, a safari operator owned by several families in South Africa. It is run on family land in the Stormberg Mountains and Kat River areas in South Africa’s Eastern Cape - as well as concessions in other areas of South Africa and surrounding countries. The company is owned by the Stretton family (Robbie, Justin, Jeff, and their families), Murray Danckwertz and his family, and John and Isabel Sparks ( http://www.sesafaris.com/hosts.htm ). I must add that this family ownership extends beyond business into the everyday fabric of the safari - you become part of their families and this probably what sets them apart. I went with a group of people from Nacodoghes, Texas, of whom one of them, Bob Cunningham of Global Sportsman Outfitters, was the booking agent for the group and now the exclusive agent for Stormberg Elangeni in the U.S. Accompanying Bob where JR Royce, Dr. Aaron Polk, and Roger and Carol Russell.

I started my trip the morning of Friday September 7th. I left Austin on a flight to Washington Dulles Airport and then caught a connecting flight to JFK where I met up with Bob, JR, and Aaron (Roger and his wife joined us later in Africa). After a lay-over of several hours we left for Johannesburg (AKA Jo’Berg). The flight was over 18 hours long with an hour stop in Senegal to refuel (but you cannot leave the plane). That long in coach was not nice, especially on a South African Airways Airbus. They took the "nice" 747's off this route several years back.

We arrived in Jo’Berg at around 5 PM - with South Africa being 7 hours ahead of Austin, that put the total travel time at around 31+ hours... It took us about 2 hours to make it thru the airport. We paid extra to have a meet and great service (about $100/head including tips). I highly recommend this. We avoided many lines, that had we been in the US, the TSA alarms and security teams would have been all over us, but not in South Africa. Money speaks. We also had to collect our bags and clear SAPS (South African Police Service). Although we were at the end of the hunting season and the only ones in the SAPS firearms office, it took nearly an hour. We also burned some time renting cellphones and SIM cards so we could call home. Cell phones work everywhere, I mean everywhere, in Africa. Sprint, Cingular, and all the others here could learn a thing or two from Vodafone in Africa about service area and low costs....!

One thing to note about African travel is that it takes a lot of planning. It’s not a weekend hunt with your buddies nor a guided Elk hunt in the Rockies. It takes a lot of preparation on part of the Safari operator, booking agent, and the individual. You don’t need any shots for South Africa (like other African countries), but it’s a good idea to have your tetanus updated at minimum along with a MMR, Polio, and DPT; a series of shots for Hep A and B aren’t bad either. Also, have your doctor send some prescription meds with you in case you are in the back woods and need some. Doxicycline and Z-Pac are two good basics along with some prescription painkillers in case they are needed. Then there is the paperwork. Use a travel agent for the tickets. It won’t be any extra and it will save time especially if you are flying inside the country to other cities like we were. You will also need to fill out the SAPS 527 gun permit and get it to your meet and great service ahead of time and have the original with you to clear the SAPS office. You will need a letter of invitation, itinerary, return ticket, and "proof of means" to get into the country with your guns. A visa is not required at present, but suspect that will change. South Africans need Visas for the US. The last bit of advice is to acquire travel insurance should you require medical evacuation or you must cancel your trip for a valid reason (critical illness, death in the family, etc.). The airline tickets and 50% of the safari deposit are not refundable. A little of insurance goes along way. Look to spend about $800 or so on the medical and trip insurance with the trip insurance being the share of the expense. I recommend Sportsman’s Travel Insurance http://www.sportsmanstravelinsurance.com.

Once we were done with our airport business, we were picked up by Afton House, the B&B were we stayed the night. The van promptly took-us to the B&B. For those that have not been to South Africa, especially the urban areas, crime is a major concern. All the businesses and houses have walls, spikes, and wires around them. The Afton House B&B is very nice and family run. B&B’s are very popular in South Africa and account for a very large portion of tourist and business accommodations. The service and facilities are typically several notches higher than what you find in the U.S. Each B&B is virtually a self-contained secure oasis with excellent rooms, food, drinks, staff, and very nicely landscaped surroundings - and all for a very low price, often $40 US per night.

Afton House

Once we got to the hotel, around 8 PM, we were hungry. The owner got the bags to our rooms and then took us, along with a retired couple and two of their friends from Seattle, to a Texas steak house. It was pretty darn authentic, except for the one-man-band guy that sounded like the Bee-Gees and knew less C&W music than Jake and Elwood. The food was excellent (South African beef is very, very good and all free range). With appetizers, beers, wine, main course, dessert, and tip it came to around $31 US for two of us - WOW.

After dinner we were back to the B&B for a good nights sleep. We spent an hour or so chatting with some other hunters that were resting between a safari in South Africa and part two in Tanzania. The Afton House caters mainly to hunters so you find lots of interesting people to talk with. One more note, most of the houses in South Africa do not have heating or cooling - they are a usually all stone of some sort (very little wood) and heat and cool with the weather. It is very pleasant as the temperature extremes are often very wide and the humidity is low.

The next morning we were up early and off to Richard’s Bay to meet up with the Stormberg Elangeni team. We got thru the lines fast. I paid Bruce, our escort from Afton House (and the Travel Agency - he works for both), $3 to get us thru the aircrew line at security. Pretty nice. Bruce used to work at the airport and was always in trouble because he was always in places he wasn’t supposed to be. So the Afton House and Gracey Travel hired him. Bruce is an valuable asset. We took a 2 hour commuter flight to Richard’s Bay. It’s located in the Natal province on the Northeastern coast of South Africa.

We were met by the team from Stormberg Elangeni and a PH from the Kwazulu Game Preserve - the place where we would start our hunt. It is located on the Mfuze river and is home to a wide array plainsgame and the "Big Five" dangerous game (seven if you count the hippos and crocs that were there). The total preserve is 120,000 acres.

Lodge Front

The lodge was luxurious. Stone walls, thatched roofs, native decorations and art, etc. It was amazing. We each had a private room and a hot bubble bath waiting for us each night on queue as we returned from each day’s hunt. We had a formal dinner served every night in the dinning room hosted by the husband and wife (Val and Bruce) managers. They were very nice folks. Bruce was a retired finance executive from Jo’Berg and Val was a retired school principal that ran a school in one of the Townships. Many of the kids had no parents due to AIDs, prison, or violence, and were being raised by the oldest sibling.

My Bedroom

Our breakfast and lunches were served outside on the deck next to a small swimming pool and outdoor living room. The couches made for some nice naps. Our schedule started very early, often leaving camp before 6 AM. We were usually back by noon or so as the animals laid up with the mid day temperatures. Then we were back out around 2 or so until around 6 PM when the day had given away to darkness and some very cold nights. It was not uncommon to see 40-60 degree temperature swings on our trip.

Back Deck of Lodge

We made a quick trip to the range (quick if you call an hour+ quick) to check zero on my rifle. It was good. We came back for our first meal and first evening at the Kwazulu lodge. I don’t remember everything we ate, but I do remember it was awesome.

View from Lodge

The terrain we hunted was "Classic Africa" as portrayed by Hollywood: flat grassy plains giving away to gentle rolling hills covered also in grass and acacia trees. These were interwoven with some very large hills and mountains. It was very beautiful. Some parts turned more arid along the river with a bit dryer foliage, less grass, and more exposed rock and soil.